Why doesn't Sony make cartridge versions of PSP games?

People talk about the lack of games for PSP, but it really isn't the case considering nearly every PSP game is available via PSN. But why only PSN? Seems to me that they could port their PSP games to Vita cartridges fairly easily. Just having the PSP games on the shelves would attract some to the Vita as the shelves currently look so sparse. Maybe it isn't cost effective, but Sony needs to do something to attract Vita buyers. And the backlog of PSP games would be a great place to start especially considering that the limited and expensive memory card space is one of the biggest drawbacks.

Bingo. Memory cards are the most expensive current form of game distribution, anyway. And retail boxes and shipping and paying margins to retailers, it all costs too much to be worth it. And, honestly, pitching a handheld that will play games with near practical fidelity to PS3 with years-old games that won't match a PS2 experience, I doubt that will help.

I have a Vita. The game situation isn't that bad. Face it, a lot of hot for games for DS aren't much to look at or play and many of them are just ancient console recycles. But DS hardware and games are comparatively cheap. When you're selling a handheld that costs as much as a current generation console and pricing games at what current and next generation games cost just a few months after release, people expect some pretty incredible games.

The best game for showing the potential of Vita is probably KZ Mercenary, not just for Vita shooters, but in general. It's a high quality gaming experience but it's not much an addictive phenomenon. Vita needs a couple super-duper games to sell more units, the games no one will make until they sell more units.

Oh, I should add, the problem with a high-priced, deluxe handheld is the kind of people who will buy that will also buy two or three of the current generation home consoles. These are the kinds of people who will consider, Will I ever play this much? If all I had was a Vita I'd play the hell out of it. But I don't play it much because my gaming time goes to the home consoles. The good Vita games should sell a lot better than they do but people aren't buying them because they're too busy with their current gen home consoles, and lots are looking forward to the next gen. To have a smash hit handheld it has to sell well in a particular demographic. Kids too young to have smartphones. Kids who may have home consoles in their households but don't have autonomy in determining time to play those consoles because their TV time is parentally limited -- yeah, I know, limit games on a TV screen but not games on a DS screen, makes no sense, but that's the way it is -- or the TV the PS3 is attached to is regularly in use by parents watching DVR'd The Good Wife episodes or whatever happens to be on Bravo. That's the reason Nintendo designed the WiiU so a lot games could be played solely on the gamepad. And this smash hit handheld has to be priced so that it's cheap enough to replace it when the kids break it or leave it on the school bus, never to be seen again.

This is a significant demographic but it's a very particular demographic. My kids don't much play handhelds because they have their own home console gaming set up in their room. They're great students in school, they read a lot, they play outdoors, they play other ways besides video games, they hang out with us and tell us all about their lives, I don't see a problem indulging them with a dedicated gaming environment. A lot of parents won't do that even if they can afford it and their kids are similarly well-balanced children with diverse interests. Again, makes no sense to leave the gate wide open on a DS, but no way they get mostly autonomous access to their own gaming environment. But, again, that's how it is.

So there's that demographic and Vita doesn't sell to that demographic and Sony isn't even trying to push it into that demographic, neither with their marketing nor their games. Sony is trying to sell a handheld to a very broad audience but it's a handheld that really only appeals more than an indulgence, a lark purchase, to adults who do nothing but game in their spare time. And, really, that's not very many adults. That's not very many adults on this forum and almost every adult on this forum is certainly an avid gamer.

Yeah, that would be a disaster for them to do the carts for PSP to vita games.

I don't see that being a disaster. Make it marketing campaign for a select number of PSP games. "PSP Greatest Hits for Vita". Add the top titles from PSP as a retail cartridge rather than them being hidden away deep in the bowels of PSN.

Originally Posted by F34R

I'd LOVE to get a Killzone hd remastered from the PSP to the Vita, with the controls being utilized. That would be golden.

Yeah....these kind of games, imo, benefit much more with remastering with Vita in mind rather than PS3. I could see playing a ton of older PS2 games on my Vita. Not sure I get as much out of it on the big screen.

I like the idea, but yeah, cost. Although they could curb some of that cost since the games have already been published and they could fit several games onto one cartridge. I'm sure the cards are big enough.

I don't see that being a disaster. Make it marketing campaign for a select number of PSP games. "PSP Greatest Hits for Vita". Add the top titles from PSP as a retail cartridge rather than them being hidden away deep in the bowels of PSN.

Yeah....these kind of games, imo, benefit much more with remastering with Vita in mind rather than PS3. I could see playing a ton of older PS2 games on my Vita. Not sure I get as much out of it on the big screen.

The costs for them to remaster, manufacture and then distribute those games through retail, then ad marketing costs.. I dunno. They can take the chance I guess, the same way they did with the PS2 remasters... plausible I guess.

The costs for them to remaster, manufacture and then distribute those games through retail, then ad marketing costs.. I dunno. They can take the chance I guess, the same way they did with the PS2 remasters... plausible I guess.

Well....then there are the development costs of new games. So far, not a lot of game companies have put much investment into Vita. Think Sony needs to take the lead on this. There are a ton of older games that are completely new to many current gamers. A whole new generation of gamers of come around since the PS2 and many have never even played a PS2 game since PS3 has been devoid of backward compatibility. Sony needs to leverage this. If they think remote play and remote play alone is going to breath life into Vita....I'm not so sure.

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